Van Persie sacked as Feyenoord coach after 16 months
Robin Van Persie has been sacked as the coach of Feyenoord after 16 months in charge of the club.
The Eredivisie club announced his sacking on Sunday despite leading the club to a second place finish and a Champions League place in the just-concluded season.
Feyenoord’s Technical Director Devy Rigaux confirmed his sacking in a statement on their website.
He said: “Robin van Persie has given everything for the club over the past 1.5 years. He certainly deserves credit for concluding a difficult season with a final second-place finish. This secured Champions League football, which is of course very important.
“We conducted a thorough internal analysis. In this, we took into account, among other things, the development of the style of play and the declining trend in terms of points total, both in Europe and in the Eredivisie.
“The conclusion was that it is better to start the next season with a new head coach.”
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The former Arsenal forward has two spells at the club as a player, scoring 46 goals in 122 appearances.
Shortly after his retirement in 2020, Van Persie started his coaching career at Feyenoord as an assistant coach under Dick Advocaat.
In 2021, he was handed the supporting role as a field coach, while also becoming the co-head coach at the club’s under-16 team.
For the 2023–24 season, Van Persie was promoted to co-head coach of the club’s under-18 team, as well as the under-19 team in the UEFA Youth League.
Van Persie joined Heerenveen in May 2024 before making a return to Feyenoord as a head coach in February 2025.
He recorded 30 wins, nine draws and 19 defeats in 58 matches for Feyenoord.
